origin vs consequences

In philosophy we're currently learning about the beliefs of a philosopher, James, who says that the origin of ideas and things doesn't really matter, it's the consequences of the idea or origin, it's what they produce. This reminds me of part of our discussion of Dana on thursday. The origin of Dana is not only confusing to the reader but to Dana herself. Although she may seem lost her "true" origin isn't as important as her consequences, which would be overall saving Rufus to in turn save herself. This is what should be important to her, I haven't finished the book yet but I believe if she discovers this she will be more at peace with 1976 Dana and 1819 Dana. It doesn't matter which reality she thinks she belongs in but more her actions in both settings that influence the bigger picture. Eventually her two selfs will fall into each other and what time period she belongs in won't be as difficult for her to grasp because she knows who she is, what her life means and also that her consequences are the most important thing.